


The Finer Things in Life

by ZaliaChimera



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gift Giving, No Spoilers, Presents, Romance, Zombie Apocalypse, post apocalyptic dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaliaChimera/pseuds/ZaliaChimera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jody and Simon raid a very high-end department store.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Finer Things in Life

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a work in progress for a while and I’m not entirely happy with it, but it’s one of those things where I probably never will be so I thought I’d get it done and posted instead of poking at it forever.

“Oh my god, this place is really posh.”

Jody couldn't help but stare as they jogged through the store towards the long dead escalators, making sure to give the rusty brown patches on the floor a wide berth.

[Yup,] Sam said, still coming in clear over their headsets. [The city's most expensive department store. Used to go round there sometimes and decide what I'd buy if I was really rich.] 

“Oooh, we'll have to pick you up something nice then Sam,” Simon replied with a grin. “Top floor, you said?”

[Yeah. There was a food market up there and a restaurant. We think it's still mostly untouched. Worth a look anyway.]

“Oh aye? Dining on truffles and caviare tonight then?”

“Oh, don't! I'm starving,” Jody said, skilfully dodging around a- well, a corpse, an old one, with an ease that she'd never thought would be possible. When you spent your days being chased by the living dead, the dead-dead tended to stop fazing you after a while. 

“Poor bugger,” Simon said, looking down at the corpse and nudging it with his foot. “Must've fallen. Cracked his skull.” None of the apparent sympathy stopped him from crouching down and going through the dead man's bag, relieving him of a couple of tins and a packet of Mars Bars. And his crowbar. And he'd probably have gone for his shoes and coat too if Jody hadn't elbowed him. 

“We're in the middle of a department store, Simon. I think we can leave the shoes for once.”

Simon gave an awkward sounding cough, and had the grace to look embarrassed as he stood back up. Sometimes Jody couldn't help but think that maybe he enjoyed this zombie apocalypse stuff a little too much. “Right. Yeah. Come on then Clover.” He hefted the crowbar over his shoulder, grinning at her for a moment before heading off again.

[What was that? Is Simon grave robbing again?] Sam asked.

“Oi! You weren't complaining that time when I found a jar of Marmite!”

[That doesn't make it any less creepy,] Sam muttered.

They made it up to the top floor and Simon gave a low whistle. “Looks like we've got the motherlode here Sam. Might want to get another team ready to head out here.”

[Right. I'll check who's free. You're still clear right now so...]

“We know the drill, Sam,” Jody replied, already looking critically over the shelves. “Restaurant first?” she asked, glancing over at Simon.

He gave a quick nod. “Yeah, they probably have some more staples, much as I love the- Oooh, Zombies Ate My Cupcake. That looks like fun!” He grabbed a box off the shelf and shows it to her.

[You really have no shame, do you Three?]

Jody laughed softly and Simon gave her a hangdog look as he put the box back. “Here's me, trying to bring a little light and enjoyment to our lives and you weren't complaining about my lack of shame that time in the showers, Sammy.”

[Oi!] Sam sputtered, [That was... how was I supposed to know anyone was in there?]

“That's what they all say,” Simon said, smirking.

“Fun as this is,” Jody said, giving Simon a withering look, “I'd kind of like to get out of here before the _zombies_ show up.”

Sam gave an awkward sounding cough. [Right. Sorry Four. The kitchen should be up ahead.] 

There was a layer of dust across everything in the restaurant, but apart from that, it looked kind of like they were expecting customers at any moment. It was eerie, Jody thought, but some places were just like that. The shops weren't usually too bad though, better than when you break into people's houses and have to see their photos.

Simon opened one of the big doors inside the kitchen and grimaced, closing it quickly. “Freezer,” he said, looking a little ill. Jody nodded in response. You learnt pretty quickly that fridges and freezer were places to avoid, no matter how hungry and desperate you were.

The cupboards though, now those showed potential. “They've got a lot of stuff here Sam! Basics. Oil and flour and stuff.”

[Oh thank god. I might cry if they have to stop making bread.] 

“Yeah, shame the sacks of flour are too hefty to carry if you want us to grab anything else today,” Simon replied. “Not and run as well. We'd need some cover.”

Sam huffed softly and Jody could imagine him looking through the rosters. [Right. Leave it for now. We're doing alright on the weapons front so... might be able to send a few out later with extra bags and someone with a noisemaker to keep the zoms away.] 

“Will do, Sam! There's some smaller bags in the shop. I'll grab some on the way back,” Jody said, finishing rooting through the cupboard and pulling out a couple of tins. “Oh wow, they really do have caviare!” 

“Yeah, and it's about a million years out of date,” Simon replied, quickly sorting through them for anything useful. “Inconsiderate of them. Guess we won't be experiencing the finer things in life tonight then.”

[Who wants to eat fish eggs anyway?] Sam said, and Jody could easily imagine the way he'd grimace and stick his tongue out. She couldn't stifle a chuckle.

“Says the boy who likes _Marmite_ ,” she replied teasingly.

[Oi! Marmite is the food of the gods you heathens!] 

“Lies,” Jody replied, grinning at Simon as they made their way back into the shop, taking a more than cursory glance around this time.

“Now now children,” Simon said, “I don't see what the fuss is about and when I'm the one acting like an adult, you know you're in trouble.”

On the other end of the radio, Sam sucked in a sharp breath. [The fuss? I think you're legally required to pick a side Three! You can't just give an answer like that.]

“Well, look at that, I just did now- toasted scorpions? Oh this I have _got_ to try.”

“Ew!” Jody said, peering over his shoulder at the little tin. “That's disgusting, Three!”

“Live dangerously, Jody.”

“Because the undead hordes just aren't dangerous enough,” Jody replied, rolling her eyes as he shoved a packet of the... ugh, they really were scorpions! into his pocket. “You'd think super rich people wouldn't have to eat insects.”

“Most of them are all about eating brains these days, I'd expect.”

[Uh guys?] Sam broke in, [speaking of the undead hordes...]

“Oh god, what is it Sam?” Simon asked, still moving along the shelves, grabbing what he could shove in his bag and it thankfully didn't include any more insect related products. “Impeccably dressed upper class zombies throwing a fit about us plebs getting our grubby mitts on their Prada trousers?”

Jody snorted softly and bumped his shoulder, earning a fond look from him. She followed him, keeping a wary eye on the entrance. It was a familiar system they had by now, well ingrained by months of scavenging, picking out what would be best used to feed a couple of hundred people.

[Nothing really bad,] Sam replied sounding pensive. [You've got a few zoms starting to congregate around the main entrance. It's okay. There's another exit into the shopping arcade at the back.] 

“We're nearly done here anyway, Sam,” Jody replied, snatching a couple of bottles of water from the rack and sliding them into her bag alongside a bag of obscenely expensive soup mix. With truffles in it. Not even the chocolate kind of truffles although those would probably be pretty rubbish in soup actually.

“Hey now, not so fast. We still haven't scoped out the booze.”

Jody rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I forgot this was just a leisurely shop. How about I go get you a basket?”

“The good doctor always wants stuff for the hospital,” Simon said with a shrug. “Keep an eye out.”

[Why does Maxine get all the good stuff?] Sam grumbled as Jody wandered back out, doing a quick circuit of the floor to make sure there were no nasty surprises, noting that flight of stairs Sam had mentioned earlier. 

She couldn't help but pause in front of a rack of dresses though, and she began to flick through them, feeling kind of guilty for doing it because who needed dresses there days? Difficult to run from the undead in a full length... was that Alexander McQueen? She glanced at the price tag and even knowing that money meant nothing now, she still winced. That was like four months rent back in London. 

“Ready to go, Four?”

She jumped, turning to glare at Simon. “Don't sneak up on me! You still haven't figured that out!”

Simon laughed softly, and slid his arm around her shoulders, fingers brushing down over her skin and it felt kind of nice really. “Got what I needed. How's it looking Sam?”

 [Okay. Might want to hurry it up a bit though. Your escape is still clear but there's a few more gathering down by the front doors.]

“On our way, Sammy,” Simon said, nudging Jody forward. “Off we go Four. Mum wants us home by tea time.”

Jody giggled, setting off towards the back of the shop while Sam sputtered indignantly. Simon was a few paces behind her when she glanced back, shoving something into his bag to muffle the clinking of bottles from inside. 

There was a crash from downstairs and Jody froze for a moment. Simon came to a halt next to her. 

“Sam, what was that?” she asked, although she could pretty much guess what was coming.

[Oh, oh _crap_. They're in. Shambling around the ground floor for now. Better move quickly before they find the other exit.]

“Got it,” Simon said. “Stairs?” he added, glancing at Jody.

She nodded. “Over here.”

They reached the stairs and headed down quickly, coming out in a side aisle. They could hear the zoms moving around, the groans from decaying throats seeming horribly loud in the silent shop. The door to the shopping arcade was open and they crept out, trying to avoid drawing the attention of the zoms. 

Like that ever worked.

[Guys, uh... you might want to pick up the pace a little. I think they've caught wind of you.] 

A hideous gurgling groan came from somewhere behind them, somewhere entirely too close behind them.

 [Run!]

For all that it was terrifying and horrible and gives her nightmares, there was still nothing quite as exhilarating as running for your life. At least, she'd never found anything else before the apocalypse. It was like runners high times a hundred, all that adrenaline pumping through you, and when Simon glanced at her, his grin wide and manic, she knew she was wearing a matching expression. 

They lost the zoms out by the plaza, ducking down a set of stairs and across the main road, skirting around the car park and heading steadily out of town. They slowed to a jog when they hit open countryside, taking a few moments to catch their breath.

“Did you see that last one, Jody? Staggering around in high heels like that!” Simon asked as they cleared a stile over the wall between a couple of fields. He paused at the top, looking back at where they'd come from before hopping down the other side and offering her a hand. She stuck her tongue out at him and hopped down on her own, dropping straight back into a run.

It didn't take them long to get back to Abel and once there it the familiar routine of offloading supplies and getting checked over by Doctor Myers. There was always that little niggle, even on a clear run, enough that the all-clear made her shoulders slump and tension she hadn't realised she'd been holding, seep out of her.

Simon grabbed her when she was heading down to the rec room after her shower, a thoroughly smug expression on his face. “Ah, Clover. Looking lovely as always.”

Jody eyed him sceptically, raising an eyebrow. “What're you after Simon?”

“What? I can't just enjoy the company of a lovely lady?”

She just gave him a _look_. Simon laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Well, I might have something in mind, but it's good, I promise!”

She didn't answer for a moment, letting the silence drag out before nodding, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Fine. Let's see what you've got in mind then.”

He lead the way across the compound, towards a sheltered spot out behind one of the old farm buildings turned over to storage. 

“Are those new jeans?” Jody asked as they climbed up the ladder to one of the hay lofts, and she totally wasn't eyeing up his arse as they climbed. She was just observant okay?

“Yeah. You like them?”

“You've still got the price tag hanging off them! That's so tacky.”

“Hey, not every day you get to wear eight-hundred quid jeans to mess around in a barn, Jody,” he said, flashing her a rakish grin over his shoulder. “Got to have some pleasures.”

“You have a weird idea of fun,” she said, grinning as she reached the top and flopped down on the wooden floor of the loft. 

“You haven't objected before,” Simon said. He was over the other side, rooting through a bag for something. He turned around, unfurling something with a flourish, laying it out over his knees, a length of dark fabric.

“Oh my god,” Jody said, staring down at the dress that he was holding. “Is that what I think it is?”

Simon smiled wryly, looking almost awkward which can't be right because he was Simon and Jody was pretty sure he didn't know what awkward was, except in other people. Then he knew how to ruthlessly exploit it. “Saw you looking at it, back at the shop. Thought I'd grab it.”

She reached out to finger it and god, she'd never owned anything this nice, or this expensive and even if money didn't really matter these days, well... “No-one's ever nicked something for me before,” she said, grinning at him.

“Aw shucks, Jody,” he replied, passing the dress over, his smile gone soft and she wasn't sure if he realised it. “You going to try it on?”

“I suppose so,” she said. “You didn't nick a mirror by any chance?”

He rolled his eyes, laughing. “Wow, you steal a girl a two-thousand quid dress and she wants the whole shop!”

“Hey, I have standards!” she said, starting to strip off her clothes down to bra and underwear. Simon watched openly, a small smile on his lips, and say what you like, the apocalypse had done wonders for any embarrassment about her body. Difficult to keep it when you shared showers and lived in what pretty much amounted to a barracks.

“Like what y'see?” she asked, glancing over at him.

“Always, Clover,” he said, his voice a little husky but he sounded sincere was the thing. He always did. Never mocking, even when he teased.

A sports bra was not exactly what she'd have chosen to wear with a dress like that, but she pulled it on, smoothing it out down her legs. She couldn't resist standing up and doing a little twirl to show off the dress.“How do I look?”

“Perfect,” Simon said, leaning forward and looking her over, gaze lingering.

She laughed softly, leaning over and tapping his nose. “Lech.”

“I never claimed otherwise. You look good.”

“Thanks,” Jody replied, and it was more heartfelt than she'd expected. It was kind of ridiculous, but it was just nice to wear something pretty, something girly and so far from pragmatic.

“Don't thank me yet.” 

He grabbed for his bag again, pulling out a few items and setting them between the two of them. A little box of chocolates and some bread wrapped in a tea towel, still warm from the oven, and a jar full of mushrooms?

“Truffles,” Simon said, laughing at the ridiculousness of it. “Never tried 'em. Never really cared much but... might as well have a taste of the finer things in life before we die, right?”

“You really know how to kill the mood there, Simon,” Jody replied, wrinkling her nose at the answer.

“It is one of my many skills. Come on, eat up. I had to swap a shower token to get that bread.”

She flushed a little, kind of embarrassed by how far this was going and how nice it was anyway. “What brought this on?” she asked, poking at the truffles before grabbing a chunk and popping it on a piece of bread. She took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “It's not half bad actually. Maybe they had a point.”

Simon moved up to sit beside her, leaning their shoulders together. “Do I really need a reason to spoil you? Like I said, life's short. Especially these days.”

Jody frowned at him and shoved the last of the bit of bread into her mouth before grabbing a chocolate and nudging him hard in the ribs. “Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine today?” she teased and when he smiled, she nudged the chocolate against his lips. 

His tongue curled against her fingers when he took it, a sly look on his face as she watched him chew it. He grabbed her wrist, holding it there while he chased down the lingering sticky residue on her fingers, his tongue and lips warm against her skin. It made her breath catch for a moment, her gaze half lidded as she watched him.

“So, was this a seduction then?” she asked, giving him a coy look. “You could've just asked.”

“Maybe,” Simon replied, with a lopsided smile. “Is it working?”

“Oh yeah,” Jody replied, smile spreading into a real grin. “Definitely top marks from me.”

“That's good. Nothing like being an overachiever.”

She laughed and made the first move, leaning in to kiss him, hands splaying out to cup his cheeks. “You know what the best part of this dress is?” she asked when they parted, her lips just brushing against his.

“What?” His eyes were dark and hungry and it was all for her, all about her.

“Taking it off.”

Simon laughed, full throated and happy and leaned in to kiss her again.


End file.
